


Samichlaus

by akikaze13



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Bullying?, Depression?, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, neglected self-care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 20:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14776673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akikaze13/pseuds/akikaze13
Summary: Stan is content at college with his tennis-scholarship. He made friends, he gets to play tennis, he even got used to the cold shoulder he gets from their team-captain.When he shows up for his new job during the holiday season, things take a turn to the worse.





	1. Stan

Feeling nervous, Stan pulled on his pants. Or what was supposed to act as pants. For a lack of a better word, he was wearing a pair of dark green tights. It was part of his costume. Christmas break was fast approaching and he had exhausted his bank account. Originally he had auditioned for a spot as Santa in the local mall. The spots were all taken, but they offered him to be an elf instead.

It was mostly okay. The money was the same. He could have done without wearing such a ridiculous outfit though.

There was a knock on his door. Stan grabbed the comforter from his bed and wrapped it around his waist. "Come in", he called. "I haven't locked the door."

Serena poked her head into the room. When she saw Stan she raised her eyebrows. "Interesting choice of clothing", she commented while she came in and closed the door behind her.

Stan rolled his eyes. "I'm in tights! I was getting ready for my new job. It was pretty expensive to ship all the presents to my family and I need a new racket."

"That's why I'm here. I just wanted to know something more about this job. You were pretty tightlipped."

"It is not a dream-job. I am posing as Santa's elf. You know, taking pictures of screaming kids, keeping their parents in line. This kind of stuff. I am starting today. And I really, really hate my costume."

"Obviously", Serena grinned. "But you have to leave your blanket at home."

"Yes. And there are hot pants that go with the tights. But I will not walk through town wearing this." He glanced at his alarm clock. "Speaking of walking. I need to get ready, so I am on time."

"Don't be shy." Serena winked at him. "I am curious what you look like."

"Hentai", mumbled Stan under his breath. But he dropped the blanket and reached for his jeans. He would change into the hot pants when he was at the mall. The tiny red shorts were in his backpack, together with pointed shoes, a vest and a green hat. When he was dressed, he reached for his coat. Putting on his shoes he looked for his backpack.

"Have fun at work", Serena told him as they left his room. Locking it behind him, Stan faced Serena. "I will see you around", he said, as he waved at her.

 

Burying his face in his scarf, Stan walked quickly through the streets. He still had some time, but he preferred it this way. It was late November and the wind hitting his face was biting cold.

When he reached the mall, the air inside was way too warm for his taste, especially after walking through the cold for a longer time. Stan located the door leading to the maze of corridors behind the scene. Using the keycard he had gotten from the manager he let himself in. Slowly he walked through the corridors, trying to remember were the locker room was.

He was met by the manager, who was standing before the door. "Great, you are early." He shook Stan's hand. "This way I can introduce you to 'your' Santa. Your schedules matched so perfect, I decided to stick you together for this season." The man waved Stan into the locker room.

It took all of Stan's willpower to keep walking. He immediately recognized the man sitting on the bench, halfway through dressing up as Santa.

"Roger", the Manager started talking. "This is Stan, he will be your partner for the season." Neither Roger nor Stan said anything. They just stared at each other. The manager picked up this weird vibe. "Is everything alright?", he looked from Roger to Stan and back.

"Just surprised", Roger started talking. "We play for the same club at college."

The manager grinned. "Great, so I can skip introductions?" He straightened himself. "I went over your assignments with each of you already. You are good? Your shift will start in twenty minutes." He looked at his watch and left the room.

Stan was staring at Roger. When the other one did not say anything, Stan took an imagined deep breath and started looking for an empty locker.

 

A couple of hours later Stan opened the door to his room. He was tired, it was exhausting having to deal with energetic kids for a longer amount of time. And then there was Roger. Working had been some kind of good. Or maybe neutral was the better word. If only the moment in the locker room hadn't happened.

After their shift they had changed into their normal clothes. Stan had felt Roger's eyes on him. The attention felt heavy. "Nice butt", Roger had said, before he left the room.

Stan was still confused, even after his walk back to campus. Stripping out of his clothes were he stood, Stan just collapsed on his bed. "Argh", he shouted into his pillow. If it wasn't for the money, he would just quit. But like he told Serena, he needed a new racket and a few other things too. With a deep sigh, Stan tried to get comfortable, so he could get some sleep.

 

Waking up the next morning was hard. The new job had left him drained. But his alarm told him, it was time for practice. And since he wanted to stay on the team he got up. On his way to the gym, he met up with Serena, who wanted to know how his job was.

"It's bad", he told her. "I am paired with Roger, and it is a fixture as far as the manager is concerned." He took a sip of his coffee. "I even considered calling it quits, but my bank account said no."

Serena mad some noises of sympathy. "He is not the friendliest guy, when you are concerned. I know I asked you before, but are you sure you didn't cross him?"

Stan shrugged helpless. "I have no idea, why he shows me his cold shoulder while charming everyone else." He felt miserable, like he always did, when this topic was mentioned.

They reached the gym and Stan held open the doors for Serena, who mock-curtsied at him. Inside they went for different locker rooms. Most of the guys were already there. Stan went to his locker and changed to some workout clothes. On court their coaches made a brief appearance, telling them what they needed to work on. Stan was scheduled for stamina today.

He picked one of the treadmills. He preferred to run outside, but the weather was too bad for that. Stan worked for half an hour, lightly chatting with Philipp on the treadmill next to his. After the exercise he took a short shower before he met up with Serena again. On their way to their classes he told her more about his work from yesterday.

Stan spent his next days with his usual routine, split between school and practice. On the weekend the tennis team travelled to a little tournament, held a few hours away. He shared a hotel room with Philipp, which was great. They got along well and even shared a few classes, so they could study together.

On the day, they came back home, Stan had his second time as an elf. He had dreaded this all weekend long. While he took pictures and talked to the people in line he slowly relaxed. In public, Roger acted civil towards him.

After work Stan stalled changing out of his hot pants. Since last week, he felt uncomfortable with Roger seeing him only in tights.

"See you at practice, sweet cheeks", Roger called cheerfully when he left the locker room. Stan was sitting on the bench, staring at the closing door with his mouth hanging open. What had that been? He shook his head and started changing. It was a long walk back to his dorm room.

The next day after practice Stan stayed behind. He had a slight problem with his backhand and the coach wanted to talk to him. When he finally made it to the locker room most of the other guys had already left. Stan shrugged out of his clothes and walked into the showers.

He ignored the few running showers and picked a free one. He didn't take long, his thoughts were onhis assignments for his French class. Somehow he almost always came up with good solutions while showering. So he hurried out to get dressed, not wanting to lose his thoughts before he could note them down. Stan patted himself dry and put on his underwear. Then he reached for his phone and wrote a little note to himself.

Only after he saved it, did he finish with getting dressed. When he was tying his shoes someone slapped his butt and he almost fell over.

"What..." he turned around and saw Roger smirking at him.

"Really nice ass", Roger said with a wink before he left the room.

Stan stared at the closing door, his mouth hanging open. He could not understand what was happening. Ever since they started their job as Santa and Elf, Roger ignored him more than ever. With the occasional slur, and now booty slaps?

The alarm going off on his phone reminded Stan he did not have time to stand around. There were still classes to atrend.

Serena looked up when he sunk into the seat next to her in the lecture hall. "Hey, did you take a detour", she greeted him.

Stan shook his head. "I had a talk with coach. Something about my backhand." He chose not to her about the incident in the locker room. She was his best friend, but this was something he needed to think over for himself.

He doubted he would share this willingly. All through the lecture Stan was slightly distracted. He counted on copying Serena's notes if he missed anything important. Even if she would question his reasons for doing so.

For the next few days he tried avoiding being alone with Roger. He still had the job and practice and games, but for the most time there were enough people around. The only tricky parts were the locker rooms. He tried to stick to Philipp when it came to tennis, but at the mall, it was only him and Roger at those times.

And for some reasons Roger seemed to wait for him. It was always some comment about his ass and a pinch or a slap to said ass. It began getting on Stan's nerves. He started to get anxious when those times came up. Because of that, Stan stopped eating before their job after he threw up at the thought of meeting Roger.

Serena noticed that he was more silent and even Philipp commented on it. Stan kept to himself. He did not know how to react. And he felt ashamed by the way Roger treated him. He even had some trouble going to sleep at night, always worrying and imaging about his next meet up with Roger. As a result he lost even more appetite and often almost fell asleep in classes.

So far his performance on court had not suffered yet. And he was worrying about this too.

When he was awake at night, he was thinking about his options but he could not see any. Until Roger graduated they would play together for the same team s long as Stan managed to deliver his game. Quit playing tennis and maybe college too was something he considered but he could find no reason he could present to the world.

So Stan just dragged on and on. The days started to blur together. He kept his schedule, but only because his phone kept reminding him. As a result he made sure the calendar on his phone was always up to date. He even added time for doing laundry, so he would not run out of clean clothes.

On top of this he started feeling sick after a late night walk home from the mall, walking through cold rain. He made his way through practice, wanting to get over it fast. At the end the coach called him over again. Stan apologized, hinting at the beginning cold and promised to get some medicine.

He ended up in the locker room later than he wanted. Philipp was leaving already. Stan took of his clothes, letting them fall on the bench before his locker. With a towel in hand he slowly went into the shower. He headed for the far stall, the one in the corner. For once he did not look for Roger.

He started the shower and only flinched lightly when he was hit by cold water. Not bothering to turn it warmer, Stan braced his hand on the shower wall. With his head hanging down he thought of the words his coach had said. His condition was starting to affect his game. Something he had to avoid.

He fought with the tears burning in his eyes and then he lost it and let them fall. They were washed away by the water immediately. His legs were shaking and slowly Stan sunk down. He did not care if anyone saw him like this. He was feeling numb and he welcomed it. To just stop feeling for a while seemed like a good idea right now. He leaned his head on his knees and closed his eyes.


	2. Roger

Roger looked up, when Stan finally made it to the locker room. Unlike the last times he stormed through to the showers without looking left or right. Roger took his time with dressing himself. After a while he was alone. The shower in the next room was still running. Waiting for a few more minutes Roger frowned. By now, Stan should have been out of the shower.

He took of his shoes and socks again and went looking. At first glance he did not see Stan. Then he saw him, curled up in a corner. Swearing under his breath Roger stepped over. He flinched when he was hit by the cold spray. The water was freezing. Roger reached over to turn the water off.

"Hey", he reached out to shake Stan's shoulder. Roger was concerned when he felt how cold Stan was. And he did not react. The thoughts in his head were running wild. What should he do?

Roger carefully leaned down to pick Stan up. He struggled with the lifeless body, but he managed to get Stan in the locker room, where he piled as many dry towels on him as he could find.

Roger stood up and ran his hands through his hair. Tugging on the strands he looked around the empty locker room. "What am I doing?" he whispered to himself. He looked down at Stan who had not moved a bit. "Phone" Roger searched through his bag until he found his smartphone. He hesitated slightly, unsure who he should call. Finally he decided on Serena. She was always around Stan, they seemed pretty close.

While the call connected he sat down next to Stan feeling for the pulse. It was slow but steady. But Stan's skin was still way to cold.

Serena answered her phone, sounding wary. Roger almost did not know what to say. "Hey. I need your help. [...] Not for me. It is Stan. [...] Could you just come to our locker rooms? I don't know how to tell over the phone."

Thankfully Serena agreed to come back without much of an argument. Roger knew it was only because of Stan. He did not know how much time had passed until Serena came into the room.

"What?" she stopped short looking from Stan's body to Roger sitting next to him. She slowly came closer. "What did happen?"

"I found him passed out, under an icy shower." He looked at Serena. "I took him out but I did not know what to do now."

Serena dropped her bags and knelt on the floor next to Stan. She was checking his pulse like Roger had done earlier. "We need to get him into his bed somehow." She groaned. "And I can't stay to look after him." Then she was looking for Stan's clothes. "Do you think we can dress him up between the two of us?"

Roger shrugged his shoulders. "We won't know until we try." It was difficult, but they managed to get Stan into his clothes. "I could look after him" he offered Serena when they were done.

Serena stared at him.

"What?" he wanted to know.

"You? Looking after Stan?" Serena seemed confused. "After you made his life a living hell? Since you two started at the mall. Now you want to take care of him? I have some difficulties believing it."

Roger gaped at her. She seemed to get angry.

"Don't tell me you didn't even realize how you harassed him? Whoever took a closer look could see it. Ask Philipp! I'm sure he'll back me up."

"I did not" Roger started. "I just teased!"

Serena shook her head. "Believe me. It did not look like teasing. If you had acted this way towards me? I would have reported you."

Roger felt himself going white. Did he really? He was afraid to look back at his actions.

Serena sighed. "Anyway before you started being an asshole you ignored Stan. It makes no sense for you to offer your help now. Just help me getting him back to his dorm."

"I am sorry." Roger whispered. "I wasn't aware how I acted towards Stan" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Please, let me help." He stood up from the floor. "My room is closer. And I have an en-suite bathroom." he looked into Serenas eyes. "Feel free to check-in. But you are right. He should not be alone in this condition."

In the end, Serena agreed. They managed to get Stan to Roger's room. Roger ignored the mess his room was in. He had been running late for practice.

Between the two of them, they managed to put Stan in Roger's bed. They dealt with the clothes quickly, leaving him in underwear and a shirt. The Roger was rounding up all the blankets he owned and put them on top of the still unmoving man. While Serena arranged them, Roger looked for two empty water bottles and filled them with warm water from the tap. He placed them under the blankets next to Stan.

Then Serena reluctantly left. Before she closed the door she sent a murderous glare to Roger. He got the message. Serena still did not trust him with Stan. After the rush, Roger took some deep breathes.

He took out some books and notes, sitting on his desk and trying to study. He was distracted by the person lying in his bed. Roger tried to review his own actions. Was Serena right? Did he harass Stan? He forgot his study material, because she had been right. He had behaved like a total asshole. Getting to the reasons behind his actions was a lot harder. He was reluctant to look too close.

A light noise distracted him. He looked up. Stan had his eyes closed, but he was moving. Roger stood up and got closer to the bed.

"Don't", Stan was not loud, but Roger could hear the pleading in his voice. After that Stan was silent again, but now he was visibly shaking. Roger stepped closer sitting on the edge of the bed. He put one hand on Stan's head, feeling it burning up. But Stan was feeling cold. Roger thought hard, he had already piled all the blankets he owned on Stan, he added some, admittedly improvised, heated bottles. He sighed as he realized the logical course of action. He stripped down to his underwear and slipped under the heap of blankets.

Stan was instinctively seeking out the new heat-source. Hesitating slightly Roger embraced Stan's body. The heat was making it difficult to stay awake and Roger dozed on and off. He did not know how much time passed. Stan was mostly silent, but there was an occasional plea, that cut through Roger when he imagined that he was the source.

Finally the heat did him in and he fell asleep.

When he woke up, Roger was confused. The body in his arms was no longer lax. Instead it was stiff. Roger opened his eyes some more. He looked directly into Stan's. They were wide and afraid and confused. And slightly blurry due to Stan's condition.

"You woke up" Roger whispered. He let go of Stan in slow-motion. "You still cold?" he wanted to know.

Stan slowly shook his head. But he stayed silent.

Roger pulled one of his hands out from under the blankets and tried to feel if Stan still had a fever. The way Stan moved away hurt Roger, but he tried to no let it show.

"Easy", he whispered. "I just need to check if you still have fever. You were burning up before." Roger put his hand on Stan's forehead really slow. Stan was going stiff, but he did not move. Roger ignored it as well. He pulled his hand back.

"You are still way to warm, but it got better" he informed Stan. When Stan stayed silent and just stared at him, Roger slowly moved out of the bed. He carefully stuffed the blankets around Stan.

"Why am I here?" Stan asked in a low raspy voice. He looked scared.

"You passed out under the shower. Serena and I brought you back here."

Stan looked around. "Where is Serena?"

Roger sighed. "She had an appointment she could not miss." He took his water cattle to the bathroom to fill it up. Back in his room, he continued speaking. "I have no doubt she would have cancelled it, just to watch over you. She will be checking in once she is done."

Roger was rummaging through his teabags. He knew he had some herbal tea among the other brands. Finally he found one lonely bag of peppermint. The water kettle was slowly heating up. When the water boiled, Roger took a clean mug put the teabag in and poured the water over it.

Stan was lying in the bed and followed his every move with his eyes. "Are you able to sit up?" Roger asked when he walked back with the tea-mug in his hands.

Stan tried, but failed. Roger put the mug on his bedside table and reached to help Stan in a sitting position. He slowed his moves, when Stan flinched again. Roger ignored it and continued. Once Stan was sitting up, with some cushions stuffed behind his back, Roger passed him the mug. "Try to drink it as long as it is warm. You were freezing back in the showers."

Stan took the mug silently, taking little sips. He eyed Roger carefully. When the mug was almost empty, he passed it back to Roger. "Why are you so nice, all of the sudden" he wanted to know almost inaudible.

Roger looked down to the mug in his hands. He played with it while searching for an answer. "Maybe I like you? And I wanted to help you." He shrugged. "I need to apologize as well. Serena had a lot to say and she made me realize how bad I acted."

"Understatement" whispered Stan. Roger almost did not catch it. He had to smile a little.

"That is one way to say it." he shrugged. "I was attracted to you from the moment you showed up for your first team practice. And I did not want to admit it, not even to myself. So I started ignoring you." He looked up, peering out under his fringe before looking down again. "And then this stupid job happened. And you were wearing those stupid tights." He deflated. "It was harder and harder to just ignore you, so I..." Roger trailed off. He did not know how to describe his actions.

Then he looked up. Stan was swaying lightly, clearly exhausted. Roger put the mug away. "You need to get some more sleep" he helped Stan to lie down again. When he rearranged the blankets he looked at Stan. "So you feel cold, or are the blankets warm enough?"

Stan closed his eyes and swallowed. "I am a little cold" he admitted reluctantly.

Roger swallowed as well. Then he moved to get back into the bed with Stan. Before he climbed into the bed he remembered something. "Are those bottles still in the bed? They must be cold by now." He watched as Stan moved under the covers. Then one after the other the two water bottles were pressed in Rogers hands.

He put them next to his bedside table. "Scoot over a bit", he told Stan as he was lifting the covers. They tried to arrange themselves so touching was minimized.

Eventually Roger sighted. "It's not gonna work this way." He carefully and slowly moved closer to Stan and pulled him into an embrace. The way Stan stiffened made Rogers gut clench. Bit by bit the tension bled out of Stan's body and he relaxed against Roger.

When Stan's breathing evened out and Roger was on his way to dozing off someone knocked on his door. Roger moved his head. He looked at Stan and breathed out in relieve when he saw him still asleep.

When his visitor knocked for a second time, Roger carefully moved out of the bed. He didn't want to disturb Stan. Putting a hoodie over his head he opened the door. He hat to move fast to escape Serena's fist. She had wanted to knock for a third time.

"Sh...", Roger shushed Serena and let her into the room. "He just fell back asleep", he whispered. "He woke up was clear in the head and drank some tea."

Serena nodded. Then she stepped closer to the bed to look Stan over. After that she turned to Roger.

"I'll leave him in your care." She spoke low. "But I'll keep an eye on you. Don't hurt him again." With a pat on Roger's shoulder she left his room again.

Roger needed some time before he collected himself. Then he got rid of the hoodie and climbed back into the bed with Stan.

 

 

Roger watched as the ball touched down just inside the court, unreachable for their opponents. He threw his hands into the air, holding his racket tight.

The next second he found himself hugged by Stan. "We made it!" Roger readily returned the hug, burying his face in Stan's neck. He placed a small kiss there, away from prying eyes.

Sometimes he still struggled with the fact that he was allowed to do this. After Stan's breakdown they had slowly built up their relationship. Closely monitored by Serena. Who was now joining them, congratulating them for winning the doubles match which secured their team the win.


End file.
